This was the last of the "first-generation" Soviet probes to the Moon. Like its immediate predecessor, it was designed to photograph the far side of the Moon.

Unfortunately, the probe never left Earth's atmosphere. Instead, immediately after launch, at T+10 seconds, the launch vehicle began to fall apart. As each strap-on fell away, parts of the booster landed separately over a large area near the launch site. Thundering explosions broke windows in many nearby buildings.

Key Dates

19 Apr 1960: Launch (16:07:43 UT)

Status: Unsuccessful

Fast Facts

This was the last of the first-generation Soviet Moon probes.

It was the USSR's 9th attempt to explore interplanetary space; and the 17th interplanetary mission since the space age began in 1957.